A great variety of sports and other high exertion activities take place in high temperature environments which can often prove uncomfortable for both participants and spectators alike. In addition, many other strenuous activities whether sport, leisure or work often subject the participants to extreme heat and the accompanying fatigue and discomfort. For many years, athletes and spectators have attempted to obtain a beneficial and refreshing respite from high temperature discomfort by simply wetting their head and hair to promote evaporative cooling and dissipate heat from their heads. For example, runners and other similar athletes may often be seen utilizing water provided at the various water stations along the race course to dump some water upon their heads as they continue to run.
All of these various activities are attempts to make use of the heat dissipating benefits of water evaporation from the scalp and head. It has been found particularly effective in combating high temperature problems by cooling the head as much as possible.
Recognizing the need for improved methods of cooling a heated person's head, practitioners in the art have provided various apparatus which responds to this need. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,516 issued to Scarnato sets forth a SYSTEM FOR VENTILATING BROW BAND AREA OF A CAP/SUN VISOR in which a plurality of resilient porous absorbent members are removably secured to the interior surface of an otherwise conventional hat or sun visor. The attachment is provided using hook and loop fabric attachments spaced about the interior of the sweatband portion of the cap which would normally engage the forehead of the wearer. In its anticipated use, the porous members absorb perspiration from the wearer's forehead and provide an evaporative cooling effect. It is also anticipated that the positioning of the spaced apart porous members along the sweatband provides interleaved cooling air passages to further cool the wearer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,101,981 issued to Boden sets forth a cap or hat made of nonventilating material which includes ventilation openings including a top opening beneath which a baffle is movably supported and to essential rigid horizontally spaced pivotally mounted spacer elements which engage the user's head to hold the band away from the front and side portion of the user's head.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,445 issued to Fender sets forth a ventilated athletic cap comprising an adjustable headband, a semi-rigid visor and a canopy attached to the outer edges of the visor. The canopy is made of formed cloth or semi-rigid material to maintain its shape and a spaced relationship with the head of the wearer. The canopy further contains air vents at the front and rear to permit unrestricted flow of air about the head of the wearer.
In a similar type apparatus utilized for cooling an animal, U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,317 issued to Ode sets forth an ANIMAL HAT APPARATUS AND METHOD in which a hat apparatus to protect a four-legged animal from extreme heat and direct sunlight comprises a head covering section, a brim section and a chin strap to attach to the head of an animal. The head covering section has an enclosed cavity having a liquid absorbable material for absorbing cold water in order to provide a cool hat apparatus. The head covering section has a top portion with a top liner, a right side portion with a right liner, a left side portion with a left liner, a front portion with a front liner and a rear portion with a rear liner. The liners are made of substantially leakproof material and are stitched together to enclose the cavity.
Despite the creation of such prior art devices as exemplified by those described above, there remains nonetheless a continuing unsatisfied need in the art for evermore simple, cost effective and efficient cooling apparatus for wearers of hats or caps.